Eden

Aki's pale face is flushed, his eyes bright, his smile like a flash of lightning. Shinjiro feels a surge of anger and want, all at the same time, hopelessly mixed up. "You've got the advantage," he says, dodging a blow. "Fist fighting is your thing."

"You chose not to use your axe," Aki says, with a shrug that flows into another blow. His hair is getting too long in the front, curling over his sweaty brow. His brows are furrowed a little: he'll get wrinkles quite young, Shinji thinks. He moves fast, blocks and then throws Aki back into a wall, catching him by surprise.

"Let your guard down," he says, too close to Aki, right up in his face.

"You're faster than I expected," Aki says, half-laughing, squirming out of Shinjiro's hold. Shinji pins him again, holds him hard, and Aki takes a shaking deep breath. "Are we done?"

The kiss is like a blow, too, sends Shinjiro's head spinning as he pushes closer, biting at Akihiko's mouth and fisting his hands in his shirt. "No," he says, without pulling away, "we're just getting started."

Akihiko bites back, his hands in Shinjiro's hair, taking hold. "I'm so glad you -- "

"Shut up," Shinji says, kissing him again, drowning everything in that touch.